I'm looking forward to getting some hard-boiled eggs, Cadbury chocolate eggs, Starburst jellybeans, and Reese's peanut butter eggs at my parent's house, as they always put together candy baskets for my sister and I each year, and mom makes a couple dozen hard-boiled eggs.
For those not familar with why many celebrate Easter, from a Christian point of view, Easter is a celebration of Jesus rising from the dead after being crucified on the cross and paying for the sins we would commit in our lifetimes.
For those interested in learning more, feel free to read Luke chapters 22, 23, and 24, and I would LOVE to answer any questions you might have.
That is why we, as Christians celebrate Easter. Without the events that occurred, none of us would be able to go to Heaven, as we have all sinned. But God sent His only son, Jesus, to make the ultimate sacrifice and pay for our sins, offering us a new life through Him so that we can join Him in Heaven someday.
So if Easter is really supposed to be about Jesus, then what do eggs, chicks, bunnies, lilies and new clothes have to do with it?
Well that's simple really, as most symbolize new life.
- The hatching of eggs into a chick is a fresh, new life.
- The bunny is a symbol of abundant new life in ancient times, and reminds us of spring and new life.
- The white blossoms of lilies symbolize the purity of Jesus. Lilies, emerging from the earth in the spring, also symbolize new life and the resurrection of Christ.
- Wearing new clothes for Easter symbolizes new life offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
I really don't get why it's so hard for some people to just have faith, believe and give it a chance - why are people so stubborn?
My friend Nic, over at The Music Plays You, summed up my logic pretty well: "If I believe, and God exists – I’ve lived a good, fulfilling life, and I go to Heaven. If I believe, and God doesn’t exist – I’ve lived a good, fulfilling life, and I die. Now, if I don’t believe, and God doesn’t exist – I’ve lived a good, fulfilling life, and I die. In [those] options, I either go on to Heaven, or my life is over. But… if I don’t believe, and God does exist… well then, even if I lived a good and fulfilling life, I’m still doomed for hell. Even if we take all the finer points of religion out of the equation… I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel like taking chances."
I just don't understand why some choose to take that risk - it's a risk I certainly wouldn't want to take! And it's sooo easy to make the decision.
True, the Bible can be a bit confusing and there's a lot of debate regarding how some of it relates to things of today, as it was written nearly 2000 years ago but the bottom line is, if you truly repent of your sinful nature, have faith and believe that God sent his only begotton son to die for us on the cross so that we might be with Him in Heaven someday and have eternal life, then we have nothing to fear. We put our trust in Him and spread His message of hope and love to others, living our lives as an example of His love (and not letting our sinful nature get the best of us). Most people in this world try to live good lives regardless - to some degree, most accept and try to live out The Golden Rule of the New Testament - "Do unto others as you'd have done unto you" - why can't you just put your trust, faith and belief in God and have it all? If turns out we were wrong all along, so what? We die, no harm done. At least we lived our lives, trying to follow Christ's example and believing in something that gave us a sense of strength to get through life and inspired us to live better lives.
Maybe it's because it's all I've known since I was really little, but I just really don't get why anyone would want to take their chances when it comes eternity and the afterlife.
I challenge you to pause for just a moment today and ask yourself,
"Why do I celebrate Easter?"
"Why do I celebrate Easter?"
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!
Don't get too sick from all the food and candy you might be eating today!
got a great blog in here! thanks for sharing this now i know the meaning of easter and bunny. happy easter.
ReplyDeleteAs for why some people won't believe, I have to say this: I have the exact opposite question for most people. It's not difficult to lead a good life based on your own morality, not a god's. Why would I spend my life trying to appease something I have no proof of when I can set my own morals and values? I know right from wrong without a god peering over my shoulder and watching my every move. Of course, I have made some mistakes, but I have never done anything so wrong that I questioned whether or not I would go to "hell."
ReplyDeleteI have found that while most Christians are "God fearing", their actions speak little to nothing about it. I have seen some terrible things from Christians (Muslims, Jews and other religious sects as well) and I refuse to believe that that is what their god wants from them. Their hate speech, discrimination and refusal to tolerate any other ideas is completely asinine.
There are about 400,000 reasons why I choose not to believe in any sort of religion, but I'm not going to list them here. I have my own beliefs which serve their purpose in my life.
As for saying, "it's so easy to make the choice," it's not about it being easy. It's about a person's individual beliefs. I will never be a Christian because I don't believe in what the Bible says. I will never be Jewish because I don't believe in the Torrah and I will never be a Muslim because I don't believe in the Koran. I can't simply say, "Oh I'm going to be Christian today."
That being said, you have every right to your beliefs and if it makes you happy, great. Just don't try to push it onto other people and respect an individual's right to their own beliefs.
I was never so sure about the symbolism of eggs and rabbits. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAnd I, personally, am not a religious person. For whatever reason, I have never placed religion high on my priority list. I see it as a way to live life, a guideline to follow, but I don't want a guideline until I have seen what life has to offer firsthand. My moral compass has served me well thus far.
And I know you backed up Nic's argument, but I'm not sure I agree. To agree simply to agree doesn't fit with my moral compass. While I am not religious, I understand that religion exists and I respect that other people follow it. But I'm not sure that I would feel right about people halfheartedly following along. To me, religion is a way to live your life and engage your beliefs... not avoid an end result you're not comfortable with.
And I know, you probably weren't looking for a bunch of people debating with you about religion. It did that in the most non-offensive way possible. One day I may find God in my heart and find that he is a greater purpose, but today.. I don't. And I won't be finding peace with him until I have found peace with myself.
Oh Heather, I didn't find it offensive at all, so no worries there! I appreciate both yours and Jeny's comments - I've always been curious as to people's opinions (so long as they aren't attacking or being mean in the way they present them - I think civil debate/discussion is good!)
ReplyDeleteHeather wrote:
"To me, religion is a way to live your life and engage your beliefs... not avoid an end result you're not comfortable with."
I agree as well, but at the same time, knowing that those are possible end results, why risk it? Especially if you're already living your life in a Christian-like manner (ie: The Golden Rule)?
Jeny wrote:
"That being said, you have every right to your beliefs and if it makes you happy, great. Just don't try to push it onto other people and respect an individual's right to their own beliefs."
I didn't think I was being pushy, just sharing my thoughts/opinions/wonderings, as this is my blog... I didn't "push/pressure" anyone to read it - they made the choice to click the link and read =)
"I have seen some terrible things from Christians (Muslims, Jews and other religious sects as well) and I refuse to believe that that is what their god wants from them. Their hate speech, discrimination and refusal to tolerate any other ideas is completely asinine."
No you're right, at least with Christians and Jews (from what I've heard/read the Koran actually does promote violence against those that don't believe it, hence all the suicide bombings in the name of Allah over in the middle East). Under the new Testament of the Bible, we're supposed to love each other and show mercy and compassion - love the person, hate the sin - not promote hate and violence.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" In the cases of so-called Christians like that Westboro Baptist cult and others that use the Christian label yet promote hate and violence, I really think this would apply to people like that.
Great post! It's always nice to remind people of the true meaning of Easter.
ReplyDelete